The effects of groupality on autonomy, psychosocial care, and citizenship: resignification of Mental Health Care

Abstract

This study analyzed the effects of groupality on mental health promotion in Milagres, Ceará, using cartographic intervention research. Four operational groups were implemented, based on the Pichon-Rivière technique, with users suffering from mental distress. Eighteen meetings were held over six months, and based on the interventions carried out, four narrative focus groups were used as a data collection technique. The narratives, analyzed using Ricoeur's hermeneutics, showed empowerment and social reintegration. Women, who were the majority of participants, face greater vulnerability due to social and gender factors. The approach challenged medicalization, strengthened community ties, with positive impacts on family and social relationships, and reduced isolation and dependence on psychotropic drugs. Groupality stands out as a strategy with therapeutic potential for promoting autonomy and citizenship, proposing a model of ethical and collective psychosocial care to resignify mental health care in Primary Health Care.